Tag Archives: All Time Low

Sad week in America. COVID-19 deaths are increasing, George Floyd’s senseless death, and violent protests against police brutality exposing a systemic failure of leadership and a nationwide culture of racism. All this is against a backdrop of civil unrest, looting and destruction in many cities across America demonstrating just how thin the line between good and evil is in this country. The politics of outrage will not be a satisfactory response to the wounds of racism ripped open this week and then poked at by the occupant of the White House. Regardless of your political affiliation, you should certainly be able to see the injustice perpetrated against Black America and institutionalized in the militarized police force against all persons of color. Certainly you should be able to recognize that George Floyd’s death was morally wrong. He was murdered by a police officer and three others watched and failed to intervene. Black lives do not matter to the police as currently constiuted in cities across the nation. The data is shocking and disturbing. Police violence is not isolated.

As this week’s George Floyd protests have spotlighted, police violence is endemic and it is multi-generational. NWA’s “Fuck tha Police” (August 9, 1988) was not the only song pointing out the obvious 32 years ago, the Dead Kennedys, eight years earlier than that identified the police as a criminal gang in “Police Truck” (May 1980). “Police Truck” was inspired by an incident in Los Angeles in the late 1970s in which two police officers performed illegal activities such as drinking on the job, beating up drunks, and raping prostitutes. A similar incident was documented recently in 2017. Obviously, I do not have the answers but I have to believe that answers do exist and are out there to be adopted. A recent report issued by the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights entitled “Police Use of Force: An Examination of Modern Policing Practices” might be a good place to start.

Now we are just Zoom-bombing along! Tales From The Drop Box Episode 155 is truly an embarrassment of musical riches. I have had some time i.e. several months to gear things up during the long cold winter and there is simply a glutof very good music being released during the time I was away. Unfortunately, for a number of musical acts, the COVID-19 pandemic is going to wipe out any commercial opportunity from the release of their music. This lack of commercial opportunity is just one of a myriad of consequences caused by the pandemic and the resultant 22 million people applying for unemployment benefits in the U.S. in just the past 30 days. As this episode of Tales From The Drop Box amply demonstrates – there is some really good music out in the world right now. I am bringing these episodes to you with the hope that you actually buy the music. Most of these acts and their labels have Bandcamp websites or stream through Spotify. If your curious, reach out and find out how you can support them to create more music.

Taking the slim silver-lining position amidst this unusual and very tragic period, can you imagine the explosion of music that is going to be released post-pandemic? However, I am a more than a little worried about the artists and bands that will not recover from the economic consequences caused by this pandemic. In essence, musicians are small businesses and they need your help. So, if you are so inclined, seek out and buy something from any one of these bands in this episode – large act or small, national, regional or local act. It doesn’t matter what stage the act is in because they all could use the cash.

Like the flames to Notre Dame, nothing sacred here is safe I’ve exhausted all my prayers here on these pews . . . And when you said I could not stay with you that’s not the way you would have wanted to be convince yourself that everything is alright